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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Normally I would reach for black accessories to pair with a fuschia-esque garment like this. Well, uh, I've actually never owned anything fuschia before, so how would I know? But it felt slightly "off" to go for chocolate brown accessories here since the dress is such a bold jewel tone, until I realized that they do it in desserts all the time. And if a dessert can get away with a certain color combo, so can I, right? I'm just that sweet.

Wow, I just spent an unreasonable amount of time on Pinterest looking at chocolate raspberry desserts that match my outfit. The things I do for my blog readers. (The recipe for the raspberry cream-filled chocolate candies, pictured above, is here.)

I kinda wish I had a different type of garment to share right now, because my last project post was also a scoop-neck knit dress with a fitted bodice and A-flare skirt. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. My blogoversary post revealed the unfortunate fate of most of my me-makes, so I'm learning to stick with what works. And making clothes that are essentially fancy pajamas? It works.

Can you guess what pattern I mostly used for the bodice? Is it even worth mentioning or does the mere sight of the word cause your eyes to roll by now? The skirt is a pleated rectangle. I'm kinda afraid the front center pleat makes it look like I'm wearing culotte shorts instead of a skirt. I guess I just have to do a lot of curtsying (more than usual, I mean) so people understand I'm a lady wearing a dress.

This fabric's from Jomar and it's awesome. It's a stable knit with a soft texture that's kinda like waffles, but it's not a waffle knit, if that makes any sense. Hmm.. black raspberry chocolate chip waffles. Get on it, food bloggers!

I tried to show my shoes in some of these shots but I didn't do a very good job. One of my readers wondered about the shoes I typically wear on a daily basis, since I never actually show my feet in my photos. My hard-to-fit feet + frugal approach to shoe-shopping is a bad combination, so I don't have a very interesting collection and tend to wear the same things every day: these brown Clarks knock-offs and my tall caramel-colored boots from Aerosoles. I also have black flats from Payless that have gaping holes in the soles but I still wear them because I'm insane. Don't take shoe style advice from me, is what I'm saying.

What kind of shoes would you wear with a dress like this?

I'm craving a fruity dessert now, and I happen to have raspberries in the freezer that go absurdly well with my new dress. Til next time...

Saturday, November 24, 2012

I love nosying in on others' sewing spaces (I've spent far too much time reading these features), so I figured it was due time to show you my own. It's nothing that special, but I might as well give you an insider's look at my creative environment and what I stare at everyday. Welcome to my lair.

This is the view from the door. The A-frame shelf was from Corey's last apartment -- it's not the most practical storage solution, and it's VERY difficult to style without looking crazy messy, but hey, A is for Andrea and A+ sewing projects.

Moving counterclockwise. That's the closet that holds all my fabric, full and empty moving boxes, unfinished objects, unwanted objects, objects I need to but don't want to alter or refashion, and our off-season clothing. The door currently hangs Corey's cameraman-jacket-in-progress. And YES, that's the door that provides the glamorous backdrop to all my stunning blog photoshoots. To the left is the dark yellow cave that hosts my makeshift Ikea-bought cutting table with two adjustable legs in front. It's bracketed to the wall in the back. I'm considering draping a curtain in front of it so I can shove more clutter under there and hide the lamp cords.

I used paprika-colored wood stain on the birch tabletop to match the hardwood floors. This is the first time in three months this table was clear of junk. Savor it. The red pendant lamp is this one from West Elm.

My machine and overlocker share the same table so they don't have to fight too much for my affection. It's efficient this way, but I have found myself accidentally pressing the serger pedal when I mean to press the sewing machine pedal and vice versa. The little dressing table was my grandma's, and despite the limited leg room, the drawer space is great for hiding all my tools. The obnoxiously yellow lamp was obnoxiously expensive from Urban Outfitters but I'm kinda in love with it. The frames above my machines hold a print from this artist on Etsy and a poem my boyfriend wrote for me. Awwww-gag.

Everyone should study world geography while ironing their party dresses. Wait, where's Antarctica? Eh. Map print is here on Etsy.

I use 4-oz quilted crystal Ball jelly jars to store little loose things, like hooks & eyes, safety pins, bobbins, covered button kits, etc. The jars are clear enough that you can kinda tell what's in each one, but they're not cluttered eyesores either. I like their country charm.

I store my patterns in these IKEA PRÄNT plywood boxes, organized by garment type. They're the perfect width for commercial patterns, but unfortunately I can't find this size on the Ikea website anymore.

My button stash floats loosey-goosey in this old wooden box, which belonged to my great-grandmother. I'm not sure how she acquired the box or what her connection was to the Art Club of Philadelphia, but obviously I had to have it for my new home in Philly.

I don't have too many sewing books though I do appreciate them. What can I say? I'm a Gen-Y'er and the Internet is almighty.

So there she is. Small and sweet. A grab bag of vintage hand-me-downs, handmade Etsy stuff, colorful Urban Outfitters stuff and blah Ikea storage. I'm very lucky and grateful to have a whole room dedicated to my hobby, and I'm thrilled it's actually... clean right now. Time to sew.

Sorry that my posts have been few(er) and far(ther) between, but November and December are my busiest months at work so I've been putting in a lot of hours there lately. I definitely haven't been able to pump out a sewing project a week like I had been! Corey's jacket is coming along, but I need to buy lining fabric and figure out how to make toggle buttons. Does anyone know a resource for buying toggle button sets, that come with the buttons, cord and ready-made leather patches? Or do you just have to make that stuff yourself?

So tell me, what is your sewing space like? Or what do you WISH it was like? Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

This is a sleeveless version of McCalls 6599, a Fashion Star pattern. What is Fashion Star? I just Googled it and I'm very disturbed by what I'm seeing, and not just because the landing page is plastered with a huge photo of Jessica Simpson and Nicole Ritchie. The grand prize, essentially, seems to be the opportunity to sell your soul and relinquish all control of your production process to H&M and Macy's so your designs can be manufactured for dirt cheap in mass quantities of polyester in Bangladesh factories. Wow, chance of a lifetime!

Moving on.

Yes, please note that McCalls so graciously drafted us a large rectangle pattern piece so we can make a scarf to wear with our dresses (view C). Innovation celebration.

I made the dress in a knit instead of the called-for woven + zipper because, c'mon, I'm me. This meant cutting the back on the fold instead of as two. The bodice is fully lined and attached to the skirt as one. The stripey design element is my own doing, not the pattern's.

I made the dress sleeveless because with sleeves, the stripes were rather overwhelming when they were moving in all those different directions all over my body. I like wearing dresses with sleeves that I don't have to layer, but I didn't want to look like a jailbird.

I originally cut the bodice so I could add the waistband panel thing as in View B, but decided that I preferred to have only one seam that hit my natural waist (surprise). So I just attached the skirt higher up than where it was meant to go. Works fine.

There ain't a whole lot more to say about this dress, but I kinda think it's a perfect addition to my wardrobe. It's just a princess-seamed bodice and a some-fraction-of-a-circle-skirt, but I love that it's simple yet still interesting. I cut down the amount of circle to make it a little less fussy so I can easily wear it just about anywhere.

I used cotton jersey for this project, partly because it was the only dress-worthy fabric I felt like using from my stash, and partly because I don't abide by seasonal rules like "Don't wear short cotton dresses during Nor'easters or Frankenstorms or winter in general." I do what I want! And I own thermal tights.

I considered erasing that door hook from this photo because it's positioned awkwardly right by my face, but it looks like a little wonky-eyed two-legged octopus and that's kinda cute. Just consider him a loyal participant in my half-assed photo shoots, please.

Anyway, how do you feel about the show Fashion Star? If you know nothing about that, then tell me how you feel about wearing cotton knit dresses in winter. ;)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Oh 'scuse me. Can I get an award please? For most incredible one-sleeved muslin that's ever been created on this earth?

Hell. Yes.

I never really show or talk about my projects in-progress on my blog, but how I could I resist it this time? I guess I need to explain what's going on here. This jacket ain't for me, for one. My boyfriend requested a jacket made from some of the wool I was recently gifted (story here). He wanted it to be Nigel Cabourn Cameraman Jacket style, with wool/tweed for the lower half and contrast cotton canvas for the upper. Par exemple, with amazing hair man here:

I found a Vogue mens' parka pattern (V 8842) that seemed easy enough to tweak to achieve the Cameraman look. Since I'm sewing for someone else, I went through the trouble of making a muslin to test fit and make sure I got the proportions and pocket sizes right. I chose this fabric from my stash for the test version because it's canvas-weight, but also because I just wanted to see a clownish plaid made into menswear that I could force my boyfriend (and me) to try on constantly so I could giggle.

Appropriate jacket for West Philadelphia, eh, where the Fresh Prince himself was born and raised.

Anyway, while this whole muslin process has provided some laughs, the fabric is a bit too distracting to even determine if it fits well and looks decent. I ran out of canvas scrap fabric to sew in the second sleeve, but I reckon I should make a sleeve out of something in order to fully check his range of arm motion. This muslin is going to look INSANE. Even more insane, I mean.

I'm pretty excited to solider on with the real thing. And memorialize this test beauty by displaying it on the coat rack for all eternity.